Niobium nitride (NbN) thin films are of considerable interest due to their excellent mechanical and chemical stability, as well as having useful superconducting properties. Regarding the latter, NbN has a relatively high critical temperature (T c ), critical field (H c2 ), and critical current density (J c ), and has a refractory nature. It is therefore a promising candidate for superconducting microelectronics applications such as superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), radio frequency (rf) filters, antennae, and sensitive infrared (IR) sensors. [1±4] Thus far, NbN thin films have been grown primarily by physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques, including sputtering, [5±8] pulsed laser deposition (PLD), [9,10] and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). [11] Among these, reactive sputtering has been most frequently employed, and NbN thin films with T c values approaching 16 K have been grown by optimized reactive sputtering. However, superconducting NbN film growth mechanisms have not been fully elucidated; moreover, optimal growth conditions are highly growth system specific, and the growth reproducibility of high-quality films is not yet satisfactory.CVD is a widely utilized technique in film growth research as well as in industrial-scale production. Although the attractions of CVD include excellent step coverage, adaptability to large-scale growth processes, and relatively simple apparatus, relatively little work has been carried out on NbN x thin films. [12,13] Understanding and perfecting NbN CVD processes would better define the parameters required for large-scale NbN CVD, as well as for nitride CVD in general. Additional knowledge would also lead to better understanding of phase transformations as well as nitride CVD nucleation and growth processes. In this contribution, a pulsed source, plasma-assisted, low-pressure MOCVD process (POMBE), [14] using a hydrazine plasma, is implemented for the first time to grow high-quality, superconducting NbN thin films at low temperatures. Paramount to efficient MOCVD processes is the availability of volatile metal±organic precursors, and an understanding of the structure/property relationships between precursors and the resultant films. In this report, two different types of metal±organic precursors (a previously described niobium(IV) dialkylamide and a new pentavalent alkylimide) are compared in the growth of highly oriented B1±NbN superconducting thin films on MgO(001) (a = 4.213 ; 4 % lattice mismatch) substrates. Details of film growth, microstructure, and superconducting properties, as well as the preparation of a new series of volatile Nb alkylimido precursors are described.To establish the viability of POMBE for NbN film growth, experiments were first carried out with the known Nb dialkylamide, Nb(NEt 2 ) 4 (1), prepared and purified according to the literature, [15] using a hydrazine plasma as the nitrogen source. NbN films, grown at temperatures ranging from 350 C to 800 C, were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), which reveals that higher growth te...